Fuel Testing Reveals Higher Octane in Ethanol

Last July, the government announced plans to raise corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards to 54.5 MPG by 2025. The automotive industry responded saying the MPG number was an attainable goal by utilizing high-efficiency internal combustion engines that deliver lower CO2 emissions. However, one hurdle to address is that these high-efficiency engines need higher-octane fuel to realize their full fuel efficiency and performance potential.

Making higher octane gasoline at the refinery is an expensive process that is passed on to the consumer. So, can a cheaper and more environmentally-friendly source of octane be found in ethanol?
ICM
Yes, according to the fuel testing results just released. The fuel research was conducted by AVL, a global industry leader for the development of powertrain systems with internal combustion engines, instrumentation and test systems. The fuel testing study was funded in part by ICM. The first phase of fuel testing began in January 2011 and ended in December 2011.

Identifying A New Way to Test Fuel

Recognizing ethanol’s full octane value required some practical thinking about how ethanol is added to fuel, and to show how ethanol performs in new direct-injection engines. The AVL tests incorporated multiple gasoline base fuels, various compression ratios and several automotive fuel systems to demonstrate ethanol’s performance.

One of the surprising results revealed in this testing was the additional benefits of ethanol’s favorable octane sensitivity. By plotting both ethanol’s chemical octane and sensitivity benefits along with the cooling effect, test results showed that ethanol offers twice the octane potential. The focus of testing was to evaluate the various fuel blends along a range of knock limit operation rather than just evaluating one set point as is done today.Read More

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research

H2O Innovation at Process Optimization Seminar

Cindy Zimmerman

phibroThere are many aspects to optimizing ethanol plant processes, including water treatment, and that is why Quebec-based H2O Innovation has chosen to be part of the latest in the Process Optimization Seminar management series, coming up February 8-10 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Greg Madden says they call themselves a membrane systems integrator. “We engineer and build equipment for water treatment around membrane technology,” said Madden, which includes anything pre-treatment and post-treatment. Typical systems for ethanol plants include RO pretreatment equipment, followed by single-pass RO for boiler and cooling tower feed.

phibroH2O Innovations presented at the Houston Process Optimization Seminar last year and will be sponsoring the cocktail reception at the upcoming event in Minnesota. “There’s definitely good networking opportunities (at the event),” he said, noting that in addition to the educational aspect of the seminar “they do a pretty good job of making it fun.”

Listen to an interview with Greg Madden about the upcoming seminar: Greg Madden of H2O Innovation

The Process Optimization Seminar management series is organized by Fermentis, Fremont Industries, Novozymes and Phibro Ethanol Performance Group.

Registration is limited to 50 participants and the event is now close to sold out, as all previous seminars have been, so anyone interested in attending is encouraged to register as soon as possible at www.processoptimizationseminar.com.

Audio, Ethanol, Ethanol News, water

Gov. Branstad Will Address IRFA Summit Jan. 24th

IRFA Terry BranstadIowa Governor Terry Branstad has made the state a leader in renewable fuels production and public policy, therefore he will address the 6th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on January 24th.

“Leadership from the top makes a difference and Governor Branstad has made a big difference for Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel producers,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Under his leadership, Iowa has taken a lead in proactive public policy for E15 and biodiesel. The renewable fuels community looks forward to hearing from the Governor regarding the implementation of these policies.”
Iowa RFA
Branstad will address the Summit at 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 24. Other feature presentations will include four-star General Paul Kern (U.S. Army, ret.) who will discuss foreign oil’s impact on U.S. military operations. Former Reagan National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane will address breaking America’s addiction to foreign oil. Executive Director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, Dr. Gal Luft, will spell out the real national security threats posed by our country’s dangerous dependence on foreign petroleum.

The Summit and trade show are free and open to the public but pre-registration is required. The event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial/Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center in Des Moines.

biofuels, conferences, Ethanol, Iowa RFA

Ethanol Exports Surge in 2011

Cindy Zimmerman

The latest numbers show that November ethanol exports set another record and that means total exports for 2011 could well exceed a billion gallons.

ethanol exports

U.S. exports of denatured and undenatured (non-beverage) ethanol set a new monthly record of 152.5 million gallons (mg) in November, according to government data released this morning. Brazil was the leading destination for U.S. product and accounted for nearly half of total shipments for the month. Canada, Mexico, and the Netherlands were among other top destinations.

Year-to-date total exports through November stood at 1.02 billion gallons (bg), meaning exports were on pace for a 2011 calendar year total of 1.11 bg. Notably, these exports did not qualify for the ethanol blender’s tax credit, as the ethanol was not blended with gasoline prior to exportation.

“Exports have become an important part of the business model for American ethanol producers,” said Geoff Cooper, Vice President of Research and Analysis at the Renewable Fuels Association. “American ethanol producers are the lowest cost provider of motor fuel today and have ample supplies available to help meet ethanol demand around the globe. While the preference for American producers would be to use more ethanol domestically through use of higher ethanol blends like E15, E30 and E85, overseas markets will remain a viable and important part of America’s ethanol industry.”

Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, RFA

Mid-State Energy Brings E85 to Ft. Myers, Fla. Drivers

Ft. Myers, Fla. flex-fuel drivers now can fuel up with E85 thanks to Mid-State Energy, Inc.

The Ft. Myers Marathon station, opened the E85 station last week. Mid-State Energy also opened up a Circle K E85 fueling station in 2010 in Lake Wales, Fla., with partner Protec Fuel.

“Our company believes in not only giving choice to our customers,” said Ken Allen, Jr., president of Mid-State Energy, “but in providing options that will help our country to become more sustainable and help in some little way to minimize our dependence on foreign oil.”

Protec Fuel, based in Florida, has partnered with Mid-State Energy to manage the E85 installation and provide fuel for the company’s new greener burning fuel offering. Protec is a turnkey E85 company specializing in station conversions and fuel distribution. Flex-fuel vehicles can run on E85 and gasoline. E85 is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

“We commend Mid-State for its dedication in not just opening one E85 station, but its second station as well,” said Todd Garner, CEO of Protec Fuel. “Plus, Mid-State is not only choosing to offer a cleaner-burning option for customers, but a way to differentiate itself in the marketplace,” he said.

Mid-State Energy says it hopes to offer multiple alternative fuels, such as E85 and biodiesel, at the location someday. Besides E85 selling at a lower cost than conventional gasoline at the Ft. Myers and Lake Wales locations, it is better for the environment and supports our U.S. and local economies.

blends, E85, Flex Fuel Vehicles

ACE Helps Educate SD Retailers on Blender Pumps

Officials from the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) are hosting meetings across South Dakota this week to introduce the state’s new Ethanol Infrastructure Incentive Grant Program to petroleum retailers. The program was created to help station owners defray the cost of installation of ethanol blender pumps, which offer consumers a greater variety of fuel choices, including non-ethanol fuels and higher blends like E15, E30, and E85. Funding for the grant program was made possible by a partnership between South Dakota Ethanol Producers and the State of South Dakota.

Representatives from the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) are helping educate participants about ethanol blends in the meetings as well.

“The Blend Your Own Ethanol campaign, which is a partnership between ACE and the Renewable Fuels Association, provides marketers across the country with information they need to help them decide whether they want to offer new, higher ethanol blends for their customers,” said Ron Lamberty, Senior Vice President, “and we see the South Dakota program as an example that we hope other states will emulate.”

ACE Director of Market Development Rick Serie says they are happy to be working with South Dakota on this effort.

“We are pleased that the state continues to lead the way in creating programs to encourage marketers to install more blender pumps. A program much like this one was a big success last year, and we are excited that South Dakota’s ethanol producers and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development are willing to continue to support and help implement a program like this that will have so many benefits for retailers and consumers in South Dakota,” Serie said.

ACE, blends, Ethanol

Pilot Biorefinery Dedicated in Perry, Florida

Cindy Zimmerman

Florida State Representative Debbie Mayfield dumped a load of sugarcane waste to dedicate a new pilot biorefinery this week in honor of her late husband, Stan Mayfield.

uf ethanol plantThe dedication ceremony involved Mayfield pulling the lever on a front-end loader to dump a pile of pulverized sugarcane stalks, officially delivering the first shipment of feedstock to the facility, which will now be known as the Stan Mayfield Biorefinery Pilot Plant. The plant is located in Perry, Florida and is a cooperative venture between the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Buckeye Technologies Inc. The facility will be operated as a UF/IFAS satellite laboratory researching the use of inedible plant material to produce fuel ethanol, such as sugarcane waste.

When fully operational, the biorefinery will produce up to 400 gallons of fuel ethanol and 5,000 pounds of organic acids for bioplastics each day. Some of the researchers’ goals include testing a wide variety of feedstocks, such as crop residues and yard waste, and finding ways to save money on production costs.

Stan Mayfield was a member of the state House of Representatives from 2000 until his death in 2008 and was instrumental in securing a $20 million appropriation from the Florida Legislature to fund the biorefinery. A UF graduate, Mayfield was a strong advocate of renewable fuels, environmental protection and economic growth.

advanced biofuels, bioenergy, biofuels, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Natural Power Makes WindManager Available in U.S.

Natural Power, an international renewable energy consultancy, says their product, WindManager, a wind farm portfolio information system designed to increase profitability of wind farm operations is now available in the United States.

WindManager is a turbine independent system based on latest international standards such as IEC 61400-25 and RDS-PP. The system is scalable from a single wind farm to large multisite wind farms. It captures real-time data, presenting availability, losses and key performance while supplying tools for analysis, effective work processes and fact based decisions. All processes are in place to increase profitability of wind farm operations.

WindManager provides customers with four modules for effective wind farm operations including:

  • -Monitoring – Turbines are connected to a central system, all data is stored and visualized in a map view, trends can be monitored and preconfigured reports summarize performance and energy production against targets
  • -Analysis – Wind farm personnel can perform stop analysis, loss analysis and understand all downtime issues as they arise
  • -Operations Management – Work scheduling, resourcing, and collaboration across teams can be held daily or weekly
  • -Expertise – Access to system API, data management tools, and tools for extracting performance data to MatLab allows further research and analysis to be performed in house.

Scott Mackenzie, asset management director at Natural Power says, “WindManager has been successfully operating in the U.K. and Europe for over a year now, so we are very pleased to be extending these services to the U.S. market. This product helps wind farm owners and operators experience a real time view of their assets, with customers benefiting from a range of additional tools from energy forecasting to independent operational site control.”

Natural Power offers WindManager in conjunction with their existing suite of wind farm management tools including WindCentre™, a 24/7 operations control room which uses Natural Power’s Melogale™ data analysis platform, ForeSite™ for wind farm energy forecasting and SeaPlanner™ for offshore GIS, site and data management.

Energy, Wind

Vilsack Comments on RFS and Biodiesel Tax Credit

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack supports the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), but thinks strategies to build demand are more important to biofuels than tax credits.

afbf annual hawaiiVilsack made multiple appearances in Hawaii this week, including at the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) annual meeting where he addressed the membership and met with the media and had the opportunity to comment on biofuels policy.

During a press conference at AFBF on Monday, Vilsack said he believes it is important to keep the RFS2 in place for multiple reasons. “One, it provides consumer choice. We know that because we have a healthy biofuels industry that consumers are paying 90 cents to a dollar less for gas,” he said. “It’s a job creator in rural America and an opportunity to increase the bottom line for farmers, ranchers and producers. And it has helped us reduce our reliance on foreign oil, going from 60% imports to 52% in the last couple of years.” Audio from Vilsack on RFS2

A day later at the Pearl Harbor memorial to tout the increasing use of biodiesel by the military, Vilsack was asked about the expiration of the biodiesel tax credit at the end of 2011 and whether it will hurt the industry again as it did in 2010 if Congress fails to renew it. “First and foremost, our approach is to figure out ways to build demand for the product,” Vilsack responded, noting that they can use loan programs to produce more biodiesel while the commitment by the Navy to increase use of biofuel will help increase demand. “So, I don’t think that we need to rely solely on tax credits.” Audio from Vilsack on Biodiesel Tax Credit

Audio, Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, USDA

Pacific Biodiesel Continues Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

hawaiiDuring a visit to highlight renewable energy use by the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also spotlighted the Hawaii-based biodiesel producer that supplies much of the fuel used there.

Pacific Biodiesel “is the oldest biodiesel producer and refinery in the country, started in 1996,” said Vilsack during his remarks on Tuesday at the memorial, noting that USDA has provided assistance to help that company grow. “We provided recently a $5 million business and industry loan to Pacific Biodiesel to allow it to continue to expand its capacity.”

hawaiiThat loan, announced in February 2010, is being used to construct a $10 million, 5.5 million gallon per year biodiesel production plant in Kea’au on the Big Island. Pacific Biodiesel vice president and co-founder Kelly King says Big Island Biodiesel will be the companies 13th biodiesel plant. “We’ll be owning and operating five of them, the other ones we built for clients throughout the mainland, from the east coast to the west coast,” she says, with capacity ranging from a half million to six million gallons.

“We started in Maui, where we actually had the first available biodiesel pump for the public,” said King. “Back then, most of our customers were environmental hippies who would come and pay 70 cents a gallon more for fuel and thank us and tell us to keep the change!”

King says Pacific Biodiesel operates on a community-based sustainable model set up locally to benefit local communities. While all the plants can use any type of oil feedstocks, much of them operate on used cooking oil. “It can use the most degraded oils up to the purest oils,” she said. “The degraded oils make the best feedstock because it’s the cheapest!”

King and two of her Pacific Biodiesel team members were excited to be part of the secretary’s appearance at Pearl Harbor and to have him recognize the importance of renewable fuels in the Aloha State.

Listen to an interview with Kelly King here: Pacific Biodiesel VP Kelly King
Photos from Secretary’s visit to Pearl Harbor memorial to promote biofuels

Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels, Government, USDA